HELP baby refusing bottle

amother

Mustard

Wed, Oct 14 2015, 11:38 pm

My baby first refused the breast, then bottles in the evening, and now he's refusing bottles altogether. He screams in frustration when it comes near him.
Zantac stopped the spitting up but doesn't seem to help the pain at all.
Has anyone had this? I never had this before. My other babies loved nursing and eating. Please help if you've had experience

amother

Mustard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 9:37 am

We went to the pediatrician yesterday and he's gaining well. The issue is his pain.

Chani8 he won't eat more than 1-2 oz at a time. He used to eat 5 at a time. Which means beside pumping I'm feeding him every hour.

5*mom
3 months old
Been getting gradually worse since about 1 month
Zantac for 1 1/2 weeks

chani8

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 9:56 am

This sounds serious. I would ask for testing.

I would stop the zantac and instead, give fresh squeezed lemon juice diluted with water, before every feed, and again after feeding.

I would set a timer and feed no sooner than every three hours.

The fresh squeezed lemon juice alkalines the stomach. Not feeding every three hours allows the stomach acids to calm down.

Keep baby in upright position after feeds.
Sleep him on the right side.
Burp him when he cries.

Then, modify your own diet to eliminate FODMAPs (google it).

working hard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 10:00 am

My baby is like this now. Zantac did not help. See a gastro about prevacid or the like. It worked for my older child. This one screams all day and did I say all day!!
I found that if I waited 3 hours, she would not eat at all. I feed as soon as she wants and that way get the most into her.
and you do NOT want to know what my diet is.
Purpose of this rant: see about getting prevacid or lanzoprazole.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 11:01 am

working hard wrote:

I can't imagine having a 2nd kid with the same issue. You must be beside yourself.
We're waiting for pre-authorization for prevacid from insurance I hope it will make a difference as Zantac + Mylanta is not helping him at all. I agree the second he is willing to eat I drop everything and feed him. My back hurts from the positions I've stayed in to get him to keep sucking. Do you also find that when she's sleepy she's much more willing to eat?

5*mom he's definitely sensitive to dairy and I've cut it out almost completely. Still do you think this could be a reaction to a food? It is so severe.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 11:09 am

chani8 wrote:

I don't think he's in danger because outside of feedings he's very good-natured and pretty advanced physically and cognitively. Thank god the dr was concerned about his pain, not his health.
I do the last 3 things (did you mean left side?)
The FODMAP diet looks doable certainly worth a shot. Maybe a revised diet will calm his stomach

5*Mom

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 1:41 pm

amother wrote:

OF COURSE it could and I'm quite surprised that your ped hasn't discussed this with you. My current nursing baby suffers severe stomach pain whenever I eat garlic (fresh or powdered), tomatoes or tomato-based products (even the tiniest bit of ketchup), any green vegetable, eggs... Neither Zantac nor dietary changes alone relieved her pain but both together did the trick. Many of my kids were food-sensitive as nursing infants and they outgrew most of their sensitivities. I think it's important to explore this further before switching to stronger meds.

amother

Mustard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 2:44 pm

5*Mom wrote:

Tysm. I didn't know a food sensitivity in a breastfeeding baby could be so strong. Since it's every day it must be something I eat every day...I will have to revise my diet a lot

anonymrs

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 9:41 pm

Zantac did nothing for my child. It sounds like my baby. She was perfectly content before the feeding would eat a little bit and then go crazy, screaming and refusing any more. Once she was on Prevacid for GERD, she did so much better. Just so you know, it is common for GERD to start at about 2-4 weeks and then get progressively worse until it peaks between 4-6 months. Get yourself to a pediatric GI asap. Good luck!

working hard

Thu, Oct 15 2015, 10:05 pm

amother wrote:

Yes, 2 kids like this is nuts, my first is still on medicine (failure to thrive, ensophilic colinitis, gastritis....) B"H my baby just has regular reflux - a lot easier to deal with.
My insurance refused to give prevacid but gave Lanzoprazole - the same thing practically and it worked. Yes, she does eat much better when she is sleepy.
I cut out dairy, citrus, tomatoes, cabbage, raw onions and garlic and all sources of caffeine, including CHOCOLATE!!!

Hatzlacha Rabba!